Pakistani troops to remain in Waziristan despite truce with Taliban
Dated 9/9/2006
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Pakistan army troops will remain in a tribal region bordering Afghanistan despite a recent peace accord with local militants allied to the Taliban and al-Qaida, government officials said Saturday.
"Nobody has talked about withdrawal of troops from Waziristan," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said.
Her comments echoed ones by Ali Muhammed Jan Aurakzai, governor of North West Frontier Province, who also said the peace deal did not envisage any troop pullout.
The mountainous province includes the semiautonomous North Waziristan tribal region, where thousands of Pakistani troops were deployed after a U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.
This past week's peace agreement between the government and local militants raised concerns in Afghanistan and some European capitals that the region could become a de facto sanctuary for Taliban and al-Qaida fighters from Afghanistan, where they are engaged in escalating guerrilla warfare against U.S. and NATO troops.
Most of the 80,000 Pakistani troops
